Foxconn presses ahead with Sharp buyout

Although it seemed the deal was on the rocks, Foxconn has completed its due diligence into Sharp, but is seeking guidance from the loss making electronics maker on its latest quarterly performance.

Foxconn appears close to finalising a takeover of Sharp, estimated to worth nearly $6 billion and marking the largest purchase of a Japanese tech firm by a foreign company.

The deal may not happen this week as both outfits were working hard to reach a satisfactory agreement as soon as practically possible and have not set a signing date.

Investors are edge about the deal’s prospects after a last-minute hitch over potential liabilities at Sharp and the display maker’s shares slid 9 percent on Wednesday.

Foxconn, the world’s largest contract maker of electronic goods and a major supplier to Apple is waiting for auditors and accountants of Sharp to confirm whether the liabilities it has uncovered in its due diligence through the end of 2015 are correct.

It is also seeking guidance from Sharp’s team about its latest quarterly performance, the person said.

In early February, Sharp said it expected an operating profit of$88 million for the year ending in March.